Practical Information

Formalities:

You need a passport to enter Germany. Countries belonging to the European Union, as well as Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Israel and Japan, do not need a visa for stays of up to three months. For countries not listed, check with your German Embassy as to whether you need a visa or not.

Getting There:

Getting to Hamburg is no problem, no matter what type of transportation you might use. The airport is only 20 minutes from the city; Hamburg has 3 railway stations, and the IC(E)’s of the Deutsche Bundesbahn provide hourly connections to every major city in Europe ( http://www.bahn.de ).

Many travellers use RyanAir. Ryan Air services the Lubeck airport, which is about 75 km from Hamburg. There are shuttle buses available. ( http://www.ryanair.com )
Travelling by ship is the obvious way to get to Hamburg and there are car ferry links with Harwich and Newcastle in the UK. Hamburg is surrounded by 7 highways, so even if you come by car, you will find a fast way in!

Getting Around:

Mobility without a car is not a problem in Hamburg. The Hamburg Transport Authority (known as the HVV) will transport you quickly and comfortably to virtually any place in Hamburg and surroundings aboard its buses, underground trains (U-Bahn), metro trains (S-Bahn) and night buses. Enjoy Hamburg nightlife without the worry of driving in town. It's safer and the night buses run till the wee hours of the morning. But if you stay in one of the hostels in Hamburg, you won’t even need the buses: most of the important locations can be reached by foot.

Depending on your needs you can choose between several kind of special tickets to save money, for example the Hamburg Card or the Power Pass.
You can find ticket and schedule information at http://www.hvv.de